Ridi Pagliacco!

Last night it all finally came together! I've been waiting for this night for months, I'm sure not with as much anxiety as Daria Parada, the Artistic Director of Mercury Opera, but certainly with a lot of excitement. Daria and I first met in January of this year and I was immediately taken by her energy, her commitment, and her passion for this project, which at the time, was still in zygote stages. Since then, in 8 short months, she managed to bring the production to fruition... not without stops and starts of course, but she did it and I commend her.

I was pleased to have a good friend with me last night, the very talented stage director and choreographer Heidi Lauren Duke. We have known each other for years, and it is always nice to hear about her fun and exciting projects.




Even from my partial-view seat at the side of the Museum and Circus Sideshow theater on Surf Avenue, just a few doors down from the Cyclone, I thoroughly enjoyed this production. The venue was intimate, just as it should have been, and we were even treated to a catered reception afterwards.



The cast had changed many times over the last few months and even the original conductor had pulled out so there were a few last minute replacements, most notably Perry Martinez as Cannio. It did not show and the cast performed so well with one another you'd have been convinced they had been doing this for weeks... not just five short rehearsals.

The vocal star of the evening was, without a doubt, Samantha Pruyn Guevrekian in the role of Nedda. Her voice shimmered in the high range and showed color and expression throughout her range. Almost even more remarkable than her pitch-perfect singing, however, was her innate ability to know when not to sing. She used her well-supported speaking voice in just the right places and just the right amount to capture the most vulnerable and tortured moments of her character. Her chemistry with baritone Stephen Lavonier was palpable and he was endearing as her lover Silvio (dressed not very obviously as a pizza delivery boy). Percy Martinez's Cannio was heartfelt if a little soft at times but as Pagliacco he was both calm and terrifying in all the right places. Chad Karl as Tonio/Taddeo showed remarkable acting skills but I did spend a good part of the time wondering whether he might actually be a tenor. His high notes were just too full and strong for me to be utterly convinced there wasn't a Heldentenor stuck in there somewhere. Boris Derow rounded out the cast as a hilarious Arlecchino providing the most laughs of the night with his Fabio wig and gyrating hips. Not to be forgotten was the chorus who did remarkably well considering there were only about two people to a part.

I commend the entire cast and crew on a fabulous night and can't wait to see this production again someday very soon.